Hello all. I figured I needed to update you all on our work teams. I know that many of you are in the process of planning a work team to come down and help.
Currently, we have space for more teams anytime after Thanksgiving. If you are interested and haven't contacted Doug yet, please do so soon at
doug@bereannola.com.
We posted information a couple of months ago to help teams. Much of that is in need of modification. I just emailed Steve Foster from
Sayrewoods Bible Church some details. He is bringing a team in early December. I figured it was worth sharing with you all so that you can have an idea of what it looks like to bring a team down. I copied the text below:
__________________________________________________________
-----Original Message-----From: Douglas Daspit [mailto:doug@bereannola.com] Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2005 10:05 AMTo: 'stevenliz@juno.com'Subject: work team
Hey bro. It was good to talk to you last night. I am excited that you are able to come down with the team. Anyway, as for what it looks like, here are some details:
-ACCOMODATIONS: Your group will be staying in our church's back building. The classrooms have been converted into sleeping quarters. We have about 40 military cots that are available. Teams need to bring bedding (sheets, blankets...maybe air matresses or sleeping bags). We have four showers...two for guys and two for girls. Teams need to bring towels/washcloths. As for food...we provide kitchen access. We have lots of fridge and freezer space, a double oven, microwaves, electric skillets, roasters, toaster ovens, and a gas grill w/side burner.
-SURROUNDING AREA: Algiers is in very good shape. All utilites are working...power, water, sewer, internet, etc. The grocery stores, restaurants, Walmarts and Lowes/Home Depots are open. Many have limited hours...but you can basically get what you need. No more checkpoints or curfews here. Needless to say, you will spend a bulk of your time working in areas of the city that aren't as well off. But it is not a third world country anymore.
-JOBS: We have all kinds of jobs for all kinds of skills. Right now we are still gutting a lot of homes. That is a lower skill level job. You basically go in, clear out the house (almost any piece of furniture that was flooded is trash), and tear it down to the studs. We also have need for some skilled workers to hang new sheetrock, roof homes, cut down trees (professional level tree jobs), put up fences and other miscellaneous jobs. Basically, whatever skills you provide, we can find jobs to fit. We anticipate in the future needing electricians, plumbing, flooring, etc. In most cases, the people we help provide the materials (sheetrock, insulations, roof shingles, etc.). We simply provide the labor.
Before a team comes down, we coordinate with them the type of jobs they will do so that we can start planning. We typically book jobs 2-3 days in advance, so you won't know specifically what homes you will work on until you are here. It is good to think in teams. If you bring 10-12 people, then you probably would break down into two (maybe three) teams. You can have one team that guts homes...and one team that puts up fences. Whatever fits your skills. Last week we had a group from PA down. They had 14 total people. They had 2-3 teams...depending on what jobs we gave them. Their key people were a professional tree cutter, a roofer and an interior guy. So they were prepared for three different types of jobs: cutting down trees, roofing houses and floating sheetrock. Those key people were always on the same team...some of the team members floated from team to team depending on how big the job was that day. Usually, one of our leaders (me, Brad, Chris, my uncle Larry, etc.) will touch base with you each evening to see how your day was and to communicate about future jobs. It is a fluid system. We have built a lot of flex into it so that we can tweak as needed. Does that make sense?
-OTHER NEEDS: We have a fairly stocked tool shed. It is awesome! We have lots of tools that teams are able to use when they are down here. We do have some needs for additional big tools. For example, it would be helpful to have a table saw. Some churches will plan on buying one or two major tools and leaving them. For instance, one group that roofed bought a compressor and a roofing nail gun to leave.
We also can use some supplies. Sheetrock, shingles, insulation, plywood, 2 by 4s, etc. Any supplies that would help someone restock their home are needs as well. That would include basic appliances (fridges, washer/dryers, microwaves), pots/pans, furniture, etc. We are asking that these type of things be new or nearly new. Needless to say, our storage space is limited. We only have room for stuff that we are confident will be used by families who are rebuilding.
I hope that is enough information to get you going. Let me know if you have any questions.
doug
